It’s ok that the nurse is timid, but the swordsman is also timid?

"What's the situation?" Yang Yu pressed.

Tang Wu released the button he was pressing and slowly spoke, "In a previous year, the top ten students, all ten of them, came here. There was even a hidden class among them, but they still failed, only reaching the fourth stage."

His tone was full of lament. "This Hell Difficulty Dungeon of ours, while called a dungeon, is more like a warning for students."

Yang Yu's eyebrows slightly raised. "What warning?"

"A warning to everyone that game monsters are almost impossible to eliminate."

As Tang Wu said this, his eyes were filled with worry, as if he was concerned about something.

"Yes, the small island nation next to us was annihilated. The human survival crisis is indeed growing stronger and stronger."

Yang Yu nodded lightly.

She remembered the news she had just seen, her face filled with worry... After a dizzying spin.

Li Xunle looked around. Besides Zhao Hao, there were also Xia Bingxue and six others.

The environment looked like an arena.

The ground was smooth and hard, bathed in dappled sunlight, ancient and mysterious.

Around them were stone walls tens of meters high, encircling the arena, making it impossible to leave.

Unlike a typical arena, there were three lighthouses, seven or eight meters tall, on the ground.

The lighthouses appeared to be indestructible.

And on the surrounding stone walls, there were four dark cave entrances.

Li Xunle looked at the entrances, guessing that was where the beasts would emerge.

He turned his gaze to the lighthouses, which seemed climbable... His eyes darted, and he immediately grabbed Zhao Hao's hand.

"Brother, do you trust me?"

Zhao Hao was surveying the environment and was startled when his hand was suddenly grabbed.

He turned to see it was Li Xunle and finally breathed a sigh of relief. "To be honest, not really..."

Li Xunle pouted. "This time, you can trust me."

"Tch... you always say that," Zhao Hao shook his head.

Li Xunle looked at Zhao Hao seriously. "What did you allocate your attribute points to?"

"I'm a swordsman, so of course I added to [Labor] and [Stamina], which represent Strength, Stamina, and Speed."

Li Xunle mysteriously whispered into Zhao Hao's ear, "Trust me, put all your points into [Stamina] before level 20, and I'll carry you!"

Zhao Hao looked at Li Xunle in surprise. "Are you kidding me? What swordsman wouldn't add points to [Labor], which represents Strength, and instead put everything into [Stamina]?"

Li Xunle looked at Zhao Hao earnestly. "Let me just ask you one thing: do you want to soar in the future?"

"Of course!" Zhao Hao said without hesitation, but then hesitated. "But [Stamina] only represents Stamina and Speed. It doesn't give any attack power bonus. How will I kill monsters?"

Li Xunle smiled confidently. "Think about it: which is more important, killing monsters or staying alive?"

"Staying alive, of course! Where there's life, there's hope."

"For staying alive, [Stamina] is the most important, and besides, you're not some powerful hidden class..."

"You mean, in the early stages, I should prioritize speed, and the best strategy among the thirty-six stratagems is to run?"

Zhao Hao seemed to understand something.

"Aha, exactly, you're catching on," Li Xunle clapped.

"Then you, a Priest, couldn't have put all your points into [Stamina], could you?"

Zhao Hao seemed to think of something incredible.

"You guessed it!" Li Xunle said casually.

Zhao Hao's eyes widened. "But, I seem to remember that Priest skills should add to the [Intelligence] attribute to be more effective..."

Li Xunle chuckled. "I'm not an ordinary Healer; I'm a Poisonous Healer."

"Poisonous Healer?" Zhao Hao mused thoughtfully. "A Healer who puts all points into [Stamina], you really are poisonous..."

Li Xunle pouted and gave Zhao Hao a look. "I mean, I can use poison."

"No way, use poison? I've never even heard of that..."

"There are always some special skills that are unexpected. This time, just trust me, I'll show you something new."

Zhao Hao nodded, half-believing. "Alright, then what should I do?"

"First, climb that lighthouse. Second, before level 20, put all your attribute points into [Stamina]."

"Can I really trust you?" Zhao Hao grabbed Li Xunle's hand, confirming again and again.

"Of course! At worst, I'll earn back the attribute gems inlaid in your equipment later, how about that?"

"Alright, I'll remember that promise!"

Li Xunle and Zhao Hao each found a lighthouse, quickly climbed up, and sat at the highest point, looking utterly at ease.

Li Xunle pulled out a staff that, to an outsider, looked like a wooden stick.

Zhao Hao, on the other hand, took out a longsword that looked like scrap iron.

Xia Bingxue watched their strange behavior, completely bewildered.

What in the world were these two doing?

Tan Huan and the other four well-equipped male students also looked at this scene, speechless.

You could understand the Priest climbing up to hide, but the Swordsman... he's hiding too?

That's just too cowardly, isn't it?

Tan Huan gently shook her head. "Don't mind them. We'll stick to our previous battle formation. Bingxue, you're a Mage, so be careful to dodge and stand in the very center.

"Wang Hao, Chen Yuan, you two are Knights, focus on tanking damage. Li Xiang, you're a Swordsman, you'll be the main attacker later.

Zhang Tian, you're an Archer, so pay attention to your positioning. I'm an Assassin, so I'll roam around and assassinate high-threat monsters."

Tan Huan seemed very skilled, arranging everything clearly in a few sentences.

The group skillfully surrounded Xia Bingxue in the center, waiting in formation.

Li Xunle and Zhao Hao, however, were relaxed, watching the others perform, their hearts calm.

At this moment.

Above the sky, several large characters appeared:

Stage One!

The next second, a chilling sound began to emanate from the cave entrances in the stone wall.

After a low roar, monster figures gradually appeared from the four entrances.

There were two monster figures at each entrance.

Li Xunle immediately recognized the type of monster — Stone Giant.

It was recorded in the game's monster manual.

Its skin was hard and smooth, appearing rock-colored.

Its limbs were long, with five-toed feet connected to its legs, and hands with sharp claws connected to its arms.

Their faces had distinct outlines, with firm and lean facial lines, and deep-set dark eyes that made them look very tenacious.

After the Stone Giant approached, Li Xunle checked its detailed information.

—

[Stone Giant] (Normal Monster)

Level: 1

Health: 100% (1000)

Morality: 0

Intelligence: 2

Stamina: 8

Charm: 0

Strength: 10

Attack: 20

Defense: 16

Skill One: [Boulder Stomp: The Stone Giant will heavily stomp the ground, dealing magic damage and reducing the speed of enemies within a five-meter radius. For the next 5 seconds, the Stone Giant's normal attacks will deal splash damage to all enemies in front of it.]

Skill Two: [Boulder Throw: It will use the Boulder Throw skill. It plunges both hands into the ground, digs out a large rock, and hurls it at the enemy's head, dealing area damage. This skill is also effective against airborne targets.]

Description: Long ago, when the world was still in chaos, ancient deities began to shape the land. They molded various creatures from endless stone and earth, and the most powerful among them were the Stone Giants. These Stone Giants possessed indestructible bodies, capable of withstanding any attack. They heeded the call of the ancient deities, guarding mysterious temples and treasures.

Note: Beware! Provoking it might lead to a very miserable death!

Catchphrase: Don't whine like a woman, come fight me if you dare!

—

(PS: Regarding Zhao Hao's character, he's the protagonist's goofy brother. For three years, the protagonist was quite poor and always mooched meals off Zhao Hao, so their relationship is very close.)